On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Catherine Eschbach1 as the new director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). In its announcement, Director Eschbach expressed that she is “honored” to “oversee its transition to its new scope of mission” and is “committed to carrying out President Trump’s executive orders, which will restore a merit-based system to provide all workers with equal opportunity.”
The director’s appointment comes two months after President Trump rescinded Executive Order 11246 with Executive Order 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” and OFCCP halted OFCCP investigative and enforcement activity under the rescinded E.O. 11246 and issued an abeyance on activity under Section 503 and VEVRAA.
While the future of OFCCP was not clear following President Trump’s January executive orders and federal workforce reductions, the appointment of Director Eschbach as OFCCP’s director appears to indicate that OFCCP may still seek to play a role in investigating violations and enforcing the requirements under E.O. 14173. Whether it has jurisdiction to do so following the revocation of Executive Order 11246 is another question. OFCCP’s authority may be limited to referring matters to the EEOC or other federal agencies for consideration pursuant to existing memoranda of understanding between OFCCP and those other federal entities.
With regard to Section 503 and VEVRAA, OFCCP clearly...
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